HIGH SCHOOLS
Windham’s Brooke Gerry was named Maine Gatorade Player of the Year for softball on Friday, making it back-to-back selections for the junior pitcher.
Gerry has been the state’s most dominant pitcher over the last two years, and this season led Windham to a 15-2 record and the Class A South semifinals. Despite splitting starts with sophomore Kennedy Kimball, she went 8-0 during the regular season with a 0.25 ERA and 133 strikeouts in 57 innings, and also batted .574 with a 1.366 OPS.
She won the award last year as a sophomore, and finished the year 16-3 with a 0.82 ERA and 225 strikeouts in 111 innings while also hitting .541. She has committed to play in college at the University of Rhode Island.
BASEBALL
EASTERN LEAGUE: Akron scored four runs in the 10th inning – one on a wild pitch, one on Aaron Bracho’s RBI single and two more on an error – and the RubberDucks beat the Portland Sea Dogs 12-8 in an Eastern League game on Friday night at Hadlock Field in Portland.
Connor Kokx had a double, two singles and three RBI for Akron, which led 8-4 in the seventh inning before Portland rallied to tie.
Nick Yorke had a home run and single with three RBI for the Sea Dogs. Chase Meidroth added three singles and Marcelo Mayer had a two-run homer.
NECBL: The Upper Valley Nighthawks scored two runs on errors in the 11th inning for a 7-5 win over the Sanford Mainers in a New England Collegiate Baseball League game on Friday at Goodall Park in Sanford.
Mason Wolf had a two-run single for Sanford while Nicholas Roselli, Eddie Eisert and Devan Bade each had two hits.
MLB: The Toronto Blue Jays cut pitcher Anthony Bass on Friday, one day after the right-handed reliever said he didn’t think an anti-LGBTQ+ social media post he shared last month was hateful. The team now has seven days to trade Bass or put him on waivers.
Bass apologized before a May 30 game against Milwaukee, one day after sharing a post on his Instagram calling for boycotts of Target and Bud Light over support they showed for the LGBTQ+ community.
• New York Mets star first baseman Pete Alonso will miss 3-to-4 weeks with a bone bruise and a sprain in his left wrist.
The Mets placed Alonso, whose 22 home runs lead the majors, on the 10-day injured list Friday, retroactive to June 8. Alonso was hit in the wrist by a 96 mph fastball from Charlie Morton in the first inning of a 7-5 loss to Atlanta on Wednesday.
BASKETBALL
NBA: Celtics forward Grant Williams had surgery Friday to repair a torn ligament in his left hand and is expected to be sidelined from basketball activities for the next two months.
The team said that Williams, 24, will need 6-8 weeks to recover following the procedure.
Williams, who is a restricted free agent this summer. averaged career highs in minutes (25.9), points (8.1) and rebounds (4.6) during the regular season. But each of those numbers fell during the playoffs as he slipped in and out of the rotation.
Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens said last week that he thinks Williams got caught in a numbers’ situation regarding his reduced playing time this season.
“He is a good player who was on a really deep team,” Stevens said. “With the addition of (Malcolm) Brogdon last year it was going to require that guys that had gotten a little more opportunity weren’t going to get as much. That obviously hit a few of our players. … But everybody around the league knows Grant can add value to any team.”
GOLF
PGA: Carl Yuan shot a 5-under 67 in cool, rainy conditions on Friday in Toronto to take a one-shot lead at the midway point of the RBC Canadian Open.
Two-time defending champion Rory McIlroy gave himself a chance heading into the weekend at Oakdale. He shot 67 and was three shots back of Yuan’s two-day total of 9-under 135. Corey Conners, seeking to become the first Canadian to win his national open since 1954, shot 69 and was one shot back alongside Tyrrell Hatton (64), C.T. Pan (66) and Aaron Rai (69).
LPGA: Dani Holmqvist of Switzerland shot a 7-under 65 for a one-shot lead after the first round of the Shoprite LPGA Classic in Galloway, New Jersey.
Yan Liu and Jenny Shin were one shot back in the 54-hole tournament.
HOCKEY
NHL: The Columbus Blue Jackets acquired Damon Severson from the New Jersey Devils on Friday after the veteran defenseman and soon-to-be free agent signed an eight-year $50 million contract.
Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen sent a third-round pick, 80th overall, in this month’s draft to the Devils for Severson, who will be under contract through the 2030-31 NHL season.
Severson had 58 goals and 205 assists in 647 career appearances with the Devils since making his NHL debut in 2014-15.
SOCCER
MLS: LA Galaxy forward Javier “Chicharito” Hernández has torn a ligament in his right knee.
The Galaxy confirmed the injury Friday. The Mexican star will have surgery soon, but the injury could end his season.
Hernández tore his ACL on a noncontact play Wednesday night in the first half of the Galaxy’s loss to Real Salt Lake in the U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals.
Hernández, who turned 35 last week, is in his fourth season with the Galaxy. He has two goals in 12 appearances this season after missing the first month of play with a hamstring injury.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
